Text messageiPhone and AndroidNo sign-up
Secret Santa by text message:
one link in the group text, a private name for each person.
Start a free group on Giftruly, tap Text, and send the link to your family's group text. Each person taps it, adds their name and, once you draw, sees only who they're buying for. Nobody signs up or installs an app, it works on iPhone and Android, and not even the organizer sees who has whom.
Free, no sign-up. About a minute.
At a glance
- Free, no ads, nothing to install.
- No sign-up for anyone. Only the organizer leaves an email, so they can get back to the group from any phone.
- Each person gets their own private link: text it, WhatsApp it or email it.
- Giftruly sends no texts and never asks for phone numbers: the text comes from your own phone.
- Not even the organizer sees who has whom.
- Couples and anyone else you choose never draw each other.
- Wish lists, sizes and anonymous questions to the person you drew.
- 3 to 200 people, and an odd number works.
How to do Secret Santa over text
Five steps from the group text you already have. Nobody downloads anything.
- 1
Start the group
Give it a name, a spending limit and the exchange day. Add everyone's first names now, or let people add their own.
- 2
Tap Text
Under the group link, Text opens Messages with the invite already written. Pick your family's group text, or a few people, and hit send.
- 3
Everyone adds their name
Each person taps the link and adds their name, or taps it if you already typed it. You see who's in and who hasn't opened it yet.
- 4
Draw the names
When everyone's in, tap “Draw the names”. Couples you marked under “Pairs who shouldn't draw each other” stay apart, in both directions.
- 5
Everyone unwraps their person
Each person opens their link and holds the gift to unwrap one name: who they're buying for, that person's wishes and ideas within the budget.
Sending it from an iPhone, an Android or a computer
The Text button only writes the message for you. Your phone sends it, like any other text.
Where Text opens
- iPhone
- Messages, with the invite and the link typed in
- Android
- Your messaging app (Google Messages or Samsung Messages), with the invite typed in
Sending to the whole family
- iPhone
- Add everyone in the To: field, or start typing your named group text
- Android
- Pick the group conversation, or several contacts
Mixed iPhones and Androids
- iPhone
- Works: the text goes as iMessage, RCS or MMS, and the link arrives either way
- Android
- Works the same way
Sending one person their own link
- iPhone
- On the group's page, tap their name, then Send link, then Messages
- Android
- Tap their name, then Send link, then Messages
On a computer there's no Text button: Copy link, then paste it into Messages on a Mac or Phone Link on Windows, or send it from your phone with the QR code.
What each person gets
One short text with one link. Here's what happens when they tap it.
Before the draw
The link opens the group in their phone's browser: the name, the budget and the day. They add their name, and it becomes their own link, on any phone, as often as they like.
After the draw
They hold their gift to unwrap who they're buying for. Only that one name, never the whole list.
Wishes and questions
They can write what they'd love, what they don't want and their sizes. Only the person who drew them sees it, and they can ask their person a question without giving themselves away.
Reminders, if they want them
Anyone can add an email for a note when names are drawn and on the day. Nobody has to.
One group text, or one text each?
The group text (easiest)
Send the group link once to the family thread. Everyone adds their own name. Best when you already have a group text going.
One text each
Type everyone's names yourself, draw, then tap each name, Send link and Messages. Each text carries that person's own link. Best for people who aren't in one thread, or for Grandma, who'd rather not type her name.
Everyone at the same table
Skip the texts: draw on one phone and pass it around, each person unwrapping their name in turn.
What stays private
- Giftruly never asks for or keeps a phone number. Texts go from your phone to theirs, like any other.
- The names are drawn on our server, and each person sees only their own. The organizer too, so they can play.
- A group text shows the invite to everyone in it, which is fine: the group link only lets people add their name. Who has whom stays in each person's own link.
- Each person's private link is theirs alone. If they forward it, whoever opens it sees their match, so the text that carries it says “please don't share it”.
Why not just text everyone their name yourself?
You can. It just means you know every pair and can't play.
Drawing names and texting them yourself
One person draws from a hat, then texts each name. That person knows every pair, a typo means a wrong gift, and someone who joins late means drawing again.
Sites that text for you
Some generators and apps send the texts themselves, so you first type in everyone's phone number. Coding your own with an SMS service costs money per text.
One link in the group text
Giftruly needs a link and nothing else. Everyone sees only their own name on their own phone, the organizer included.
More for your Secret Santa
Secret Santa by text: questions
Can you do Secret Santa over text?
Yes. A text can't draw names, but it's the easiest way to share the link. Start a group on Giftruly, tap Text and send the link to your group text. Each person adds their name, and once you draw, opens their link to see only who they're buying for.
Do I need everyone's phone numbers?
Only the ones already in your phone. Giftruly never asks for a phone number: you send the link from your own Messages, to your group text or to whoever you pick.
Does Giftruly send the texts?
No. The Text button opens your messaging app with the invite written in, and you hit send. That's why it lands like any other text from you, and costs nothing beyond your usual plan.
Does it work in a group text with iPhones and Androids?
Yes. The text goes as iMessage, RCS or MMS depending on the phones and carriers, and the link opens in any phone's browser.
Can people in the group text see each other's names?
No. The group link only lets people add their name. Who they drew opens in their own link, on their own phone, and nowhere else.
Can the organizer play too?
Yes. The organizer sees only their own match, like everyone else. After the exchange, they can reveal the whole circle to the group if you all want.
What if someone loses the text?
Their link works on any phone, as often as they like. If they lose it, the organizer taps their name and Send link again, or they get it by email if they added one.
What about someone without a smartphone?
They're still in the draw. They can open their link on any computer, or you can draw at the table on one phone and pass it around.
Do we need to sign up or give an email?
Nobody signs up. People you invite never need an email. Only the organizer leaves one, right after starting the group, so they can get back to it from any phone.
How many people can take part?
From 3 to 200 people per group. An odd number works too, because the draw makes one loop.
Start a group to text
Free, no sign-up. About a minute.
Start a group to textBy the Gift DeskUpdated November 2026